This title has probably been posted more times than anything else in this forum but I’m fairly new and missed the results.
I REALLY need Help!!!!!

Here is my problem:
I ride with a few guys on the weekend around an area with steep hills, deep creeks, dry sandy lakebeds (in the winter) and more mud than you can imagine (in the spring). I have a hard time keeping up with them. Not in the mud or the creeks but up the hills (fire breakers)! They walk off and leave me!
I constantly have to stop and shift into Low, while climbing, and then stop and shift into High when on flat ground. If I don’t, it will burn the belt up or blow up! These aren’t just 25 to 50 feet hills these are around 100 to 200 feet hills. Steep but not straight up.
You get the idea.
While they are jumping the breakers and having fun I am shifting and having to worry about the smoking belt!!!
They have Honda 450ES Foreman and 350ES Ranchers (which I am beginning to believe is “The Best on Earth” as for reliability).
I need an ATV that is going to hang with these guys!!! This old 96 Sportsman and this 99 Xplorer can’t!!
It really gets embarrassing having to be waited on after a while. Don’t get me wrong. I don’t drive like a 90-year-old grandmother. I push it as far as it will go every time I’m out.
Is it me? Am I doing something wrong? Can you shift from Hi to Low on the fly w/o destroying the trans? Should I go for a newer machine with more HP like a ‘01 Sportsman, a ’01 Grizzly or a new Rubicon?
We are out Only to have fun, Not race, but Hey, who wants to wait on one person all the time because his ATV has to be stopped, shifted from Hi to Low or Low to Hi every time you turn around.
Any and all input on this is BADLY needed and GREATLY appreciated!!!!

 

i would recommend the priarie 650 from kawi.that thing is a monster.the fastest and most powerful 4x4 i've ever ridden.you won't have to shift to low then high to get up anything with this machine .

 

Yes, if you have an unlimitted budget go with the Prarie 650, Grizz 660, or the new Rincon sounds sweet too.

If you are on a budget than I bet the Polaris Xplorer 400 would do pretty good. In an all out drag race I would guess that it is faster than your buddies Honda's.

Too bad you ride in the mud because it almost sounds like you need a sport quad.

-Josh

 

Prairie 650 sounds good for your type of riding.

 

If you already have the momentum going keep her in high gear and let her eat, it should'nt effect the drive belt cause the tires are going to spin and as long as the tires are spinning you aren't burning the belt. Give it a try, when I first bought my 500HO I was forever shifting back and forth and I went and talked with the dealer and he said it wasn't necessary.Changing out a belt is no big deal and is about forty dollars for the belt so if it doesn't work for ya you are not into it for alot of money.The other point I wanted to make is that maybe the belt on the bike is worn and possibly needs to be replaced anyway.

 

go for the grizzly. it has all the power you will ever want, or need in a quad. it is probibally the best (all around utility quad on the market) it doesn't have to be shifted into low to climb hills either, couse it has all the tourke you will need to get up them. the prarie is also a great quad, but the irs is wonderful for mud, along with all day rides, for comfort issues. the sportsman is a great quad, but the griz can do all it can, and is alot lighter. the prarie is ausome, expecially with its take off power, but is lacking in the suspencion area. i really think the grizzly is the perfect middle of the road quad when compared to the others. good luck!!!


my pictures

 

The 300 might need low, but your 500 Sportsman does not need to be shifted into low for climbing. My 2000 is basiclly the same machine and it climbs Much better and Much faster in high. It still has the original belt in it.
Is it sounding like the belt is slipping in high? Might be time to take off the side cover and check out your belt.
An overly worn belt gets thiner than the clutches and springs were meant to work with, and that causes slippage. It even affects the gearing between the primary and secondary clutches, and will rob you of top speed.
My father has a 98 Sportsman with over 2500 miles on it. It was acting like that when he finally changed the belt. Made it run like new again.
I ride with similar Hondas and they are usually the machines we wait for. Very well built but not terribly fast.
If your Sportsman is slower on top end and slower in acceleration then when it was new, its probably time for a new belt.
But if you are looking for a new Quad, you could hardly go wrong with any choice. They all make big powerfull Sporty utilities now. Just pic your favorite brand and color.
[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img]

 

I have a '99 Xplorer 400, and I can run circles around our neighbor with a Foreman 450. It eats Ranchers for lunch.
There is no need to shift the 400 into Low for hills & such unless it is so steep you feel the need to be in 4wd. I climbed a lot of hills and got 5000 miles off the original belt. Riding double, deep mud, STEEP hills, and putt-putting still require low range, though. I was all ready to wonder aobut you, saying your Xplorer can't keep up, until in your signature, I noticed it was a 300. The 400 has PLENTY of power, within a couple HP of the 500 HO, and in a lighter machine. I switched to a white primary spring for more get up & go, and to a Uni filter, for better airflow, and will run right with a HO in a drag race.
A good mud machine, fairly smooth riding (but not in the league of the IRS machines) and pretty sporty. If the power isn't enough, you can put a RCR kit on it. The RCR (rittercycle.com) stage 3 kit is almost scary!. I recommend the trail porting & clutch kit, if you are after good performance.
The machine will be basically the same as your Xplorer now, so you will be familiar with it's strengths & weaknesses, but you will have more power.
The reason I recommend the Xplorer is economics. For less than a HO, or Grizz or 650 Kawi, you can have the Xplorer, the clutch kit, and the porting. You could probably even get new tires for it, and still be under their cost (depending on what you get). In my opinion, the Xplorer 400 is one of the great bang for the buck machines out there. I have over 5500 miles on mine, with no regrets yet. Yes, I have had to replace a few parts, but adding them into the purchase price of the machine, I am still over $800 under the purchase price of the Rubicon I almost got. I almost got one of those just on the hype, and am kind of glad I didn't. I think it is a great machine, but for the money I spent, I think I did OK.
If money is no object, though, I would go with the 650 Kawi if you want a straight axle, and the 500 HO if you want IRS.

 

Hey I have a great idea. How about the sportsman 700. That will give you all of the power you need and the speed on the level ground to go with it....

They aren't much more expensive than the sp500 either if you shop around.

 

Syclone, shifting on the fly is difficult, but it can be done... I do it all the time! What you do is pull it out of gear while riding, match the revs to where they'd be in the other gear, and just snap the shifter in gear. If you're good, the revs match, the gears match, there's no grind, and you're off. MUCH faster than stopping, and if there's no grinding, I really can't see how it's hurting the transmission. However, when going from High to Low, be ready for the jerk forward due to engine braking. It's not enough to fling you over the handlebars (unless you're really cruising... I usually do these shifts around 10-15mph, no more), but it certainly can send you into the handlebars...


Farmr, what are you talking about, running WITH an HO? I've got the same basic setup on my Xplorer (K&N instead of a Uni) and I walk away from the HO once we get past 30mph, and just keep distancing myself until we top out. It's the same on pavement as it is on dirt/grass.